The present application relates to the subterranean placement or positioning of one or more items, and more particularly but not exclusively, to an apparatus configured to form a hole in the ground and subsequently provide a pathway for positioning the one or more items in the hole, and to techniques for using such an apparatus.
Advances in certain areas of technology have given rise to the need for new approaches for the subterranean placement or positioning of certain items. For example, and without limitation, seeds used for agricultural purposes may include an exterior coating or other layer of one or more compositions, including for example pesticide compositions, fertilizer compositions and combinations of the foregoing. In certain instances, individual and selective placement of these and other seeds may be desired in order to avoid, amongst other things, disturbing the exterior coating or other layer. As a further example, delivery vehicles such as capsules which are configured to degrade after their implantation may be used to deliver a desired composition to a field, grove, orchard or other plant growing environment or locus that is in need of treatment by the desired composition. These capsules may release, amongst other possibilities, pesticide compositions, fertilizer compositions and combinations of the foregoing, and may include a structure that is susceptible to breakage or disruption during handling and under current placement techniques which can result in premature release of the composition therefrom. Beyond rendering the capsules unsuitable for their intended function, the premature release of the composition from the capsules may also undesirably expose the handlers thereof to the compositions being released. Accordingly, there is a demand for further improvements in this area of technology.